President Vladimir Putin met US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin for talks on a possible way to end the deadliest European conflict since World War II.
Just before the meeting, Mr Putin warned Europe that it would face swift defeat if it went to war with Russia, and he dismissed European counter-proposals on Ukraine as being absolutely unacceptable to Russia.
Mr Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the war, but his efforts, including a summit with Mr Putin in Alaska in August and meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, have not brought peace.
A leaked set of 28 US draft peace proposals emerged last week, alarming Ukrainian and European officials who said it bowed to Moscow’s main demands on NATO, Russian control of a fifth of Ukraine and restrictions on Ukraine’s army.
European powers then came up with a counter-proposal, and at talks in Geneva, the United States and Ukraine said they had created an “updated and refined peace framework” to end the war.
A smiling Mr Putin told Mr Witkoff he was glad to see him and asked him about his and Mr Kushner’s walk around Moscow, which included a stroll across Red Square past the mausoleum of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin to the towers of the Kremlin.
Key Russian demands include a pledge that Ukraine would never join NATO, caps on the Ukrainian army, Russian control of the whole of Donbas, recognition of Russian control of the regions of Crimea, Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and protection for Russian speakers in Ukraine.
Ukraine says these would amount to capitulation and leave it vulnerable to eventual Russian conquest, though Washington has also floated a 10-year security guarantee for Kyiv.
Ukraine and European powers view the war as an imperial-style land grab by Moscow and have warned that if Russia wins, then it will one day attack NATO members.
Mr Zelensky says Russia must not be rewarded for a war it started.
Putin meets Witkoff and Kushner for over three hours to discuss Ukraine peace
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin meets with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin meets with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner
Russian President Vladimir Putin met US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin for talks on a possible way to end the deadliest European conflict since World War II.
Just before the meeting, Mr Putin warned Europe that it would face swift defeat if it went to war with Russia, and he dismissed European counter-proposals on Ukraine as being absolutely unacceptable to Russia.
Mr Trump has repeatedly said he wants to end the war, but his efforts, including a summit with Mr Putin in Alaska in August and meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, have not brought peace.
A leaked set of 28 US draft peace proposals emerged last week, alarming Ukrainian and European officials who said it bowed to Moscow’s main demands on NATO, Russian control of a fifth of Ukraine and restrictions on Ukraine’s army.
European powers then came up with a counter-proposal, and at talks in Geneva, the United States and Ukraine said they had created an “updated and refined peace framework” to end the war.
A smiling Mr Putin told Mr Witkoff he was glad to see him and asked him about his and Mr Kushner’s walk around Moscow, which included a stroll across Red Square past the mausoleum of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin to the towers of the Kremlin.
